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Marc Crawford
Canadian | birth_date = | birth_place = Belleville, Ontario, Canada | draft = 70th overall | draft_year = 1980 | draft_team = Vancouver Canucks | career_start = 1981 | career_end = 1987 }} Marc Crawford (born Marc Joseph John Crawford on February 13, 1961) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, currently working as an associate coach for the Ottawa Senators. He previously won the Stanley Cup in 1996 while coaching the Colorado Avalanche. Marc is also a former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Vancouver Canucks. Playing Career Marc was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft in the fourth round, 70th overall. After three seasons of major junior in the QMJHL with the Cornwall Royals, he joined the Canucks in 1981–82. Crawford played three seasons of major junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Cornwall Royals. During this time, the team won back to back Memorial Cups. Crawford was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft in the fourth round, 70th overall. He joined the Canucks in 1981–82. As a rookie, Crawford was a part of Vancouver's 1982 run to the Stanley Cup finals, in which the Canucks were defeated by the New York Islanders. During his six seasons in the NHL, Crawford would split time between Vancouver and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Express. As a result of constantly flying between the two cities, which are over 5,000 kilometers apart, he earned the nickname "747",2 though most contemporary Canucks fans know him as "Crow", a nickname coined during his tenure as a head coach with the team. In total, Crawford tallied 19 goals, 31 assists and 50 points in 176 games during his NHL career. After a season in the International Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals, Crawford officially retired as a professional hockey player. Coaching Career Immediately after retiring as a player, Marc became a head coach in the OHL with the Cornwall Royals, for whom he had previously played in the QMJHL. After two less-than-stellar seasons with Cornwall, he moved to the AHL, and in his first season with the St. John's Maple Leafs, he took his team to the 1992 Calder Cup finals, losing to the Adirondack Red Wings. The following season, Marc was awarded the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's coach of the year. In 1994–95, he broke into the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques and achieved immediate success. As a result, he won the NHL's Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. He is the youngest NHL coach in history to win the Jack Adams. The next season, the Nordiques franchise was relocated to Colorado as the Avalanche and Marc won his first and only NHL championship as a coach in 1996, defeating the Florida Panthers in four games. He had previously won back to back Memorial Cups with the Cornwall Royals as a player. Marc would continue to post successful regular season with the Avalanche in the next two seasons, but after an early first-round exit in the 1998 playoffs, he resigned on May 27, 1998. Despite reportedly being offered a one-year contract extension by general manager Pierre Lacroix, he decided to "move on and accept a new challenge." Before his resignation with the Avalanche, he was also the head coach of the 1998 Canadian Olympic hockey team where they finished a disappointing fourth. Many fans questioned his choice of players to take part in the semi-final shootout with the Czech Republic, in which they lost, electing not to use future Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky or Steve Yzerman. Vancouver Canuccks After a brief stint as an analyst on "[[Hockey Night in Canada|''Hockey Night in Canada]]", Marc replaced Mike Keenan as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks midway through the 1998–99 season. Joining Vancouver in the midst of a rebuilding period for the franchise, he slowly developed the Canucks into a successful regular season team, playing a fast-paced and offensively emphasized style of play. After one-and-a-half seasons, Marc led Vancouver back to the playoffs, but he was defeated in the first round by his former team, Colorado. In 2002–03, Vancouver continued to improve under Marc and posted a franchise record (since surpassed) of 104 points. The following season, they took the Northwest Division title from the Avalanche, who had finished first in their division every season since they won the Northeast Division during their last season playing in Quebec. Despite Vancouver's regular season success, they only managed to win one playoff series during Crawford's tenure and, compounded by the Canucks' failure to make the postseason in 2005–06, Marc was let go by management on April 25, 2006, and replaced by Alain Vigneault. In six-and-a-half seasons' work with the Canucks, he marked himself as the longest-serving and winningest head coach in franchise history, coaching 529 games and 246 wins. On February 3, 2006, one of his last games in Vancouver, Marc also became the third-youngest head coach in NHL history to reach 400 wins. At 48 years and 342 days old, this mark trails only Scotty Bowman and Glen Sather. Nearly a month after being let go, Marc was hired by the Los Angeles Kings, a team in a similar situation to that of the Canucks when he first joined them. During his two seasons with the Kings, he missed the playoffs both times, marking the 2003–04 postseason as his last playoff appearance. Marc lasted only two years with the Kings, who thought a change was necessary in the coaching position. On June 10, 2008, he was fired by the Kings, although he had one year remaining on his initial contract. During the 2008–09 season, he did color commentary for "''Hockey Night in Canada" alongside play-by-play Mark Lee. A year after being fired from the Los Angeles Kings, Marc was hired by the Dallas Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk to replace previous head coach Dave Tippett. On April 12, 2011, the Dallas Stars relieved him of his coaching duties on April 12, 2011, two days after the Stars' loss to the Minnesota Wild that ultimately cost the team the opportunity to capture the 8th playoff berth in the Western Conference. In the summer of 2012, Marc was named the new coach of the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League A having signed a two-year contract. He won the NLA championship with the Lions in the 2013-14 season. In March 2014, he put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension. In Spring 2015, he was responsible for convincing coveted draft prospect Auston Matthews to sign and play with the Lions for the 2015–16 season. Marc was awed by Matthews' play during the 2015 U18 Championships, and contacted Matthews family and agent about a deal. Marc would lead the Lions to winning the 2016 Swiss Cup. He left ZSC when his contract expired in 2016. Besides winning the 2014 Swiss championship and 2016 Swiss Cup, he also guided the Lions to three NLA regular season championship titles (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16). In May of 2016, following the hiring of Guy Boucher, Marc was hired as associate coach for the Ottawa Senators. Coaching Record Accolades *Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award (AHL coach of the year)–1993 *Jack Adams Award (NHL coach of the year)-1995 *Stanley Cup championship (Colorado Avalanche)-1996 *Team Canada Olympic head coach – 1998 Category:1961 births Category:Canadian ice hockey coaches Category:Quebec Nordiques coaches Category:Colorado Avalanche coaches Category:Vancouver Canucks coaches Category:Dallas Stars coaches Category:NHL coaches Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Canadian ice hockey left wingers Category:Milwaukee Admirals players Category:Fredericton Express players Category:Vancouver Canucks players Category:Dallas Black Hawks players Category:Los Angeles Kings coaches Category:Vancouver Canucks draft picks Category:Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) alumni